Profitis Ilias, Greece
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One of the highlights of our visit to Rhodes: not just the house and surrounding buildings, but also the beautiful one hour walk around the hill on formerly paved paths. The house is an Alpine-style villa built with Italian marble, wood and tiling, for the despotic ruler of the island when Rhodes was part of the Italian Fascist empire. It's since been vandalised, initially by the Greeks angry at the history of repression and murder, and subsequently by everyone else. Today the ruin serves as a reminder of both luxury and oppression. It's free to enter but be careful as not all the structures are safe, though we ventured upstairs ok. Don't come at night I suggest and don't bring young children. There are plenty of broken glass and tiles around. The walk around the house was stunning and I'd suggest doing that first; we went clockwise around the house, visiting the small barracks first and finally ending up at the church and then the villa. There are paths but all the paving has been broken. Some scrambling up the hill or around fallen trees will be required! When we were there, in September, there were beautiful flowers in bloom. There's a cafe and hotel near the car park. Enjoy! I hope you find the review useful. Click "like" if you do :)
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It's well worth the drive up and the walk around. I really like the abandoned engineering aspect and will view the episode on TV when I get home. The house, it's layout and location is amazing. It's a real shame that it is derelict but understandable due to the tainted history and ownership.
Please remember these are the remnants of a hated invading fascist dictatorship. I am only surprised Greece has allowed them to survive. There are may similar old Italian houses in the same condition on Greek islands. Anyway, after visiting these relicts take the path up from the old church. In about 30 mins this will bring you to the top of the ridge above the hotel (about 750m - 2,300ft up!) with superb views all round. The circular walk takes about 1 HR but is quite rough in places.
A have to see tourist attraction....need walking shoes to go up as steep....stunning views and lovely and quiet...
Very weird and eery vibe but I loved seeing the view from the main room.
Maybe it is the vast amount of abandoned buildings I have seen in my time, but the hype of Mussolini's villa did not live up to it. Maybe that was why he never visited?
Beautuful place, fantastic views and a spirit of historical city quest. Our recommendations!
Historic place, Villa Mussolini. But not good condition. Only ruins. Need restoration
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